PA Has A New Record Buck

Ron Shaulis, center, holds his record-breaking typical whitetail rack taken with a compound bow on October 24, 2017. Pictured, left, are official Boone and Crockett Club scorer Ray Brugler, Shaulis and Game Commission Big-Game Scoring Program coordinator and official B&C Club scorer Bob D’Angelo. History was made once again this year, at Pennsylvania Game Commission headquarters, when a trophy whitetail rack shattered the previous record in the Typical Archery category in the state records.

Ron Shaulis, of West Newton, Pa., harvested the trophy buck on Oct. 24, 2017, with a compound bow on public land in Westmoreland County. The rack had a net score of 185-4/8, which surpasses the previous record of 178-2/8 from a buck harvested in Allegheny County in 2004.

“The 13-point rack was very symmetrical, and lost only 7 7/8-inches in side-to-side deductions, which included an inch-and-a-half abnormal point off the right-side G- 2 point,” said Bob D’Angelo, Game Commission Big Game Scoring Program coordinator. “That’s not much in deductions on a set of antlers this size,” he added.

The rack had 25- and 26-inch main beams, more than 11-inch G-2 and G-3 points, a more than 20-inch inside spread and 4½-inch or better circumferences at the four locations where circumference measurements are taken on the main beams.

Shaulis put in a tremendous amount of time scouting and monitoring trail cameras, and it certainly paid off. He credits the Game Commission for sound practices with deer management in the state.

“I didn’t know what I had until I took the rack to the taxidermist,” Shaulis said. “He told me I should definitely get it scored, as it might be a new record. That’s when I knew I wanted to take it to Harrisburg to get it officially scored.”

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans congratulated Ron on his record buck.

“Ron’s enormous buck is the trophy of a lifetime and representative of the amazing quality deer hunting available in Pennsylvania today,” Burhans said. “While Ron’s buck takes the top spot for a typical taken with archery equipment, no record is safe in a state where more than 150 successful buck hunters have their names added to the state’s record book each year.”

Last year a buck taken in Clearfield County that scored 228-6/8 was a new No. 1 in the Nontypical Archery category.